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Thursday, December 10, 2015

Holiday Debut Blog Tour: Blue Ridge Dress and Fishtail Kimono

I can hardly believe I'm part of this amazing Holiday Debut Blog Tour! Have you seen all the festive outfits so far? I'm all full of holiday cheer now! I feel like climbing a mountain, twirling around, and singing at the top of my lungs. Okay. Maybe not. Don't want to scare anyone. But please keep reading if you want to see my "Sound of Music"-inspired version.

Make sure you scroll down to the end of the post to enter the Rafflecopter giveaway! You can also get 20% off all the patterns featured on the tour with the code HOLIDAY in any of the shops listed below.When Gabriela of Chalk and Notch first spoke of doing a blog tour for her first pattern, the Fishtail Kimono, I knew I wanted to be part of the fun. And then when I learned she would be partnering with Holli (Hello Holli) and Saskia (The Wolf and the Tree), I was beyond excited. And of course it turned into something spectacular with 24 bloggers on the tour!The two patterns I used for my daughter's outfit are really special to me, since I was a tester for both of them. They hold a very dear place in my sewing heart. Let's start with the dress:

I really wanted to sew the tights as well because they look sooooo good, but I ran out of time. But this dress pattern! Oh my goodness, let me count the ways! It cannot be more perfect with the attention to detail, the well-written tutorial (+ hurray for layers!), the illustrations and sew-a-long (with photographs!), and the beautiful finished product. You might remember that the Blue Ridge is the dress I loved so much that I gave up the nani IRO that I was saving for myself in order to make my final test version (here). Let me tell you, that is true love!

I made a size 5, but kept it on the longer side, as I wanted my daughter to be able to wear it through next spring and hopefully into the summer. She also requested that it be long, to be more like "a princess dress." Yes, we are in that phase right now. I didn't go for a maxi length in the end, but I think it could be really cute -- you know, a Jane Austen vibe.I don't know why I did it, but I made my bias tape binding wider than what was recommended in the pattern, and I am not entirely happy with it. But my daughter insisted she "liked it that way," so I wasn't about to argue with a sick and cranky child.

I wanted to include my husband in my holiday sewing, so I asked him to choose the fabrics. Surprise, surprise, he went for blue. However, there was no "ta-da!" factor with the floral he chose, so I have to admit I was a bit disappointed at first. That said, I think it is still festive enough for the holidays -- and it's also suitable for regular days, too. You know, when you want to get on a bicycle and sing a tune.

I wanted to add a big, shiny button to give the dress some holiday sparkle, but the only one I had was this small one from a stash that inherited from my mom when she stopped sewing. I should have made the loop smaller, but I think I can just about get away with it.Now, the Fishtail Kimono. Another amazing, professional pattern with a clearly written tutorial, lovely photographs to help you every step of the way, and pattern pieces that come together beautifully. You can see my earlier versions here. There is also a Pinterest board with some lovely versions for inspiration.

I purchased the fabric for the Fishtail Kimono at my local shop. The pattern calls for knits or wovens, and recommends staying away from quilting fabric. It didn't say anything about this...um...interesting (curtain??) fabric my husband chose. I was a bit skeptical because it looks a lot like blackout curtains, but it seemed as though it would drape okay so I decided to give it a go. I mean, if Maria von Trapp and Scarlett O'Hara could make clothes out of curtains, then so could I, right? Ha!

I'm sure you will be disappointed to hear that I couldn't convince my daughter to go mountain climbing in her floral dress so that we could sing Do-Re-Mi together, but she did agree to stand next to a tree and dance. Which was fine, since I didn't know where we would find 6 other children wearing floral dresses and lederhosen who would be willing to sing with us in time for this tour. Caroling isn't so big in Japan, as far as I know. Maybe next year.

Julie Andrews is my Idol! Well you know my love for musicals so I am sure you aren't surprised. We actually own the DVD and watch it pretty regularly around here. Now for the real stuff... such a cute and delicate outfit! Love that pretty floral and your kimono fabric is awesome. I think the longer length works nicely with the Blue Ridge Dress. Oh and love that you have your girls involved in the design process, hehe! Awesome holiday outfit!

Ha ha, Mie! I'll have to let him know that you gave your stamp of approval (but now I won't hear the end of it...). The flower button was as "fancy" as he would agree to go on this outfit -- I haven't told him about the sparkly button on the Blue Ridge, ha!